


strength to strength

by jessicamiriamdrew



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Bruce and Steve are actually very similar, Crush, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-10
Updated: 2012-08-10
Packaged: 2017-11-11 19:40:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/482177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessicamiriamdrew/pseuds/jessicamiriamdrew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce and Steve are attracted to the parallels between their own lives. They have their own complicated reasons for assuming the other won't be interested.</p>
            </blockquote>





	strength to strength

Bruce feels a little fucked up about his attraction to Captain America. The Hulk, after all, is a result of his own research in trying to replicate the super soldier serum. It feels almost masturbatory. He fucked up and made the Hulk, so he may as well fantasize about Steve, right?

Except it isn’t about that at all. When they first met, Steve made it clear that he didn’t care about any of the other stuff going on. The Hulk isn’t important to Steve—finding the tesseract is and Bruce can do that. Bruce, not the Hulk. It’s the first time in a long time that anyone has wanted just Bruce around.

And Bruce is used to people tiptoeing around him so it’s not surprising to him when Steve does on the helicarrier. But Steve apologizes and it’s not Bruce that Steve is upset with—it’s Tony. For whatever reason, Steve respects him.

When the group of them begin to argue on the helicarrier, it’s Steve’s voice that gets Bruce to put the scepter down, Steve’s voice that breaks through the roar of the Hulk in the background of his mind.

—  
Steve isn’t all that sure about sexuality. It was only beginning to be discussed seriously in his time, when he grew up. He knows that love is okay, no matter what, and sex without love or something resembling it isn’t likely to happen for him. He feels too intensely, too strongly for anything casual. For Steve, there has to be potential for something more to happen.

He isn’t sure what to think about Bruce Banner when Agent Coulson shows him the tablet of information. He took Coulson’s word for it that Bruce is smart, that the Hulk is really just a secondary part to who the man Bruce Banner can be.

Steve sees so much of himself in Bruce and it hits him like a punch to the gut when they’re introduced on the helicarrier. Despite the genius and everything Bruce already is, he clearly doesn’t think much of himself. Steve sees his pre-serum self in Bruce Banner. It’s ironic, he thinks, how their roles are reversed. Bruce had to have been happy before the Hulk, had things and people to look forward to. And now most of that has been stripped away. And for Steve, everything post-serum is what counts. He wishes they could somehow meet in the middle and both be happy.

And that worries Steve too, the fact that he’s so immediately attracted to Bruce. He imagines it would be pathetic to Bruce. Steve is a soldier, not a scientist. He won’t call himself stupid but he doesn’t pretend that he’s on any kind of brain level with Bruce. That upsets him more than he thinks it should. He’s already a super soldier, does he really need something more to set him apart?

Yet here he is, fixated on a man he has no hope of impressing.

—  
After the attack on Midtown Manhattan, Bruce isn’t reviled by the world. He’s a hero—at least the Hulk is one. But that means Bruce can live a life that isn’t marked by constant fear. He can control this and maybe have a normal life (at least normal for an Avenger).

It’s with all of that in mind that he decides he has to say something to Steve. He doesn’t expect this to go anywhere, doesn’t let hope extend that far, but it’s only fair for Steve to know. Life’s too short to pretend and hide.

—  
It’s making him modify his behavior, these strange feelings he has for Bruce. It’s unfitting of a team captain to get distracted like that and he thinks telling Bruce might assuage them a bit. Because then Bruce would know and Steve wouldn’t have to worry about treating people differently. He thinks he can forget it once Bruce knows and gently lets him down.

Steve doesn’t pretend to think that anything will occur but rejection. He knows it will hurt but knows he can handle that. His life pre-serum was a case study in disappointment. Doing this is what’s best for the team, even if it means he’ll end up a little heartbroken.

—  
It’s after a team meeting that Steve decides to take his opportunity. Everyone else has filed out of the room and he really needs to go ahead and get this over with. Once his head is clear, he knows he’ll feel better.

“Uh, Steve? Do you have a minute?” Bruce says, jolting Steve from his thoughts as he realizes Bruce is standing right next to him.

“Yeah, of course. What can I help you with?” Bruce must need help with something; Steve tries to think of what he could possibly do for someone of his magnitude.

“I know this is going to be strange to hear but I think I should tell you I’ve developed…feelings for you.”

Steve feels his jaw go slack and only narrowly prevents it from dropping open.

“Romantic ones,” Bruce says. “I wanted you to know in case my behavior is different. I’m doing my best to deal with them but I thought it’s only fair for you to have this information, as captain of the Avengers.” Bruce runs a hand through his hair nervously and Steve stands there, mind processing crazily.

“Oh,” he says. “I don’t think that will be a problem Bruce.”

Bruce looks at him, questions written all over his face and Steve only knows of one way to answer them. He kisses Bruce lightly and thinks of how they’re more alike than he ever dreamed.


End file.
